At race check-in of the Keys 100, the intensity of the heat in Key Largo was evident. From the moment I started talking with friends, I was sweating—hair dripping, shirt-soaked sweating—and we were just standing still. It was hard to comprehend that we would need to move efficiently in the same sweltering heat. Saturday, May 18, at 5:20 a.m., when the first wave of elite runners took off, temps were already in the mid-80s with thick humidity.
As the day unfolded, the picturesque landscape came into view as we made our way across 42 islands from Key Largo to Key West, with the cascading Atlantic Ocean and the Florida Bay and Gulf of Mexico visible on alternate sides of the road for most of the course, and both sky and water were the same vibrant Bahama blue. As runners navigated sidewalks and breezy bridge paths, their crews, which are now mandatory for 100, 50-mile and 50k runners, were in full action tending to their runners, as were the marshals roaming the course. Running in intense heat requires pacing oneself and finding creative ways to stay cool, and crews were equipped with cold liquids, ice and sunscreen, while staying busy helping their runners as the caravan of racers clocked the miles heading to Higgs Beach in Key West, where the race finish awaited them.
I was running the race this year in honor of my father, who fell last year as I was on my way to race check in. I ended up turning around and heading home to be with him, which was one of the best decisions I made, as he passed away 32 days later. Showing up at the race this year, I had trepidation, most of which was not tied to running. I knew that if I didn’t show up I would regret it, as my father would have wanted me to be there. After my first Keys 100 back in 2011, my mom had passed away, and for most of the subsequent years, my father traveled with me to the race. When I started running in Key Largo, he would head to the 50-mile aid station, where he would assist runners all day until I showed up, relieving him of his duties, and giving him the green light to head to Key West, where he would wait for me at the finish line.
The author (left) and fellow friend and Keys 100 runner, Mollie. Photo courtesy author
This year didn’t quite go as planned, as I was pulled at the 75-mile check point for being a few minutes over the cutoff. I felt fine, energized after a bout of sleepwalking, and was determined to keep running. A DNF at that point in the race required me to take some deep breaths and shift my mindset.
DNFs always have stories behind them, and they impact us in a multitude of ways, but this time around, sitting at the finish line for hours and witnessing the race unfold from that perspective was where I learned a ton. With my feet throbbing and the unrelenting heat, even in the shade on the beach, I sat beside race timer Mike Melton and saw one runner after another cross the finish line, many were teary eyed alongside their ecstatic crews as they were handed their buckles and posed with the “Mile Marker 0” sign.
Pam Chapman-Markle, a multiple-time Keys 100 finisher, stands near the finish. Photo Tuan Nguyen
Having crossed the Keys finish line 8 times (50-miler x2 and 100-miler x6), I know first-hand what it feels like to leave it all out there. When you finish a race, you gain confidence and an awareness that you are going to be okay regardless of what the universe throws at you – and that there are amazing people out there who will assist you in your journey, although in the end, it’s only you who can propel yourself to put one foot in front of the other. This year’s race taught me that sometimes what we want and what we get are not the same, but showing up and witnessing others accomplish their goals is deeply gratifying and meaningful.
Rafael Cuza Villarreal, 37, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, was the first to arrive at the finish line at Higgs Beach, with a time of 20:44:40. Matt Clapper, 42, of St. Petersburg, FL, came in second with a time of 22:23:48, and first place female, third place overall, went to Odara Sousa Sa, 37, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a time of 22:33:38. With minimal cloud cover and a heat index of 106 degrees, this year’s race was an exercise in managing the heat. The struggle was evident in the results: the race had 87 finishers in the 100-mile distance, and a finishing rate of 45.3%. It was the first time the race had more DNFs than finishers, and the slowest finishing time since the race’s debut in 2008.
First-place 100-mile finisher Rafael Cuzu Villarreal
The 50-mile race had male and female first-place finishers come in nearly 2 hours slower than the records, with Yianni Babiolakis, 25, from Maitland, FL, in a time of 9:03:12 and Emily Sidor, 25, from Tampa, FL, with a time of 12:42:38. The 50k runners also seemed up for the challenge, with finishing times almost identical to last year. Alberto Grande, 52, from Miami, FL, came in first place with a time of 4:58:36, and Whitney Dancaster, 35, from St. Petersburg, FL, was first female, with a time of 5:50:31, earning her second win at the Keys 50k.
The 100-mile relay team winners, The Chasers, came in with a time of 11:26:37, and this year’s 50-mile relay team winners, In Paradise Running #2, were an hour faster than last year’s winners, breaking the record, with a time of 5:19:03.